Every person is unique and beautiful in their own way and so is skin type. The below table gives a quick bird’s view of the different skin types, physical characteristics of each skin type. While genetics is a predominant contributor to your skin type, the factors that you expose your skin to also alter the skin characteristics. Air pollution, sun exposure, harmful chemicals in the form of cosmetics, lack of sleep, constant exposure to blue light emitting from devices, etc. And many other times it is the just natural course of life. Personally, my skin changed from oily to sensitive and dry throughout my life. I have tried many products to combat my skin conditions. Finally, after several trials, research, and adjusting my lifestyle, I have found the routine and products that my skin feels comfortable with.
| Skin Type | Key identifying characteristics | Reasons for the skin type |
| Dry | Flaky, scaly, rough, prone to the early appearance of wrinkles | constant water loss due to heat, stress, activity, high
trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), lower amounts of normal moisturizing factors (NMFs)-urea, amino acids, and lactic acid – that help to bind in water, low amounts of epidermal lipidscreaminess, fatty acids, and cholesterol that maintain a healthy skin barrier |
| Oily | skin is shiny, greasy, large pores, often break out, thick skin, fewer
wrinkles, hard for makeup to last long, prone to comedones (whiteheads, blackheads) |
high sebum production,
hormonal changes and imbalance, certain medications, comedogenic makeup |
| Combination | dry in some spots (cheeks) and oily on nose, forehead, and chin (T
Zone) |
dry on cheeks due to lack of
lipids and oily T zone ( forehead, nose, chin) due to high sebum production |
| Sensitive | The skin may turn red, sting, burn or itch on the application of certain
products, on exposure to the sun. The severe condition may result in pain to touch |
due to an underlying health
condition ranging from a minor condition to a severe condition |
| Normal | Balanced, suitable to most of the products, fine pores, good blood circulation, velvety soft texture, |
Table 1: Characteristics of different skin types
Figure:1 Different skin types. All pictures represent the cheek area except for combination skin
How to identify your skin at home
Bare Face Method- using a very mild cleanser, cleanse your face. Gently pat dry and let your face air dry. After 30 min to 50 minutes examine your face area, especially nose, chin, forehead, and cheeks. If you feel tightness around your laughing lines or when you try to open and close your mouth, you likely have dry skin. If your nose, forehead, and chin are shiny, you have combination skin. If your whole face is shiny then you have oily skin. If you do not experience any of the above observations, you have normal skin. if you see any redness on your face, your skin could be a sensitive type
In my own personal experience, it was very difficult to distinguish and categorize my skin type based on the above method alone. A blotting paper test is another way to confirm. After cleansing with a mild cleanser and letting your face dry, take 4 pieces of blotting paper and press one against each area ( one piece on the forehead, one price on the chin, one piece on cheeks, and one piece on the nose) for 1 minute and observe against the light for the oily patch. If the square from your cheeks has more oil then you definitely have oily skin. If you see some amount of oil on the pieces of the chin, nose, and forehead, then you are likely to have combination skin. If you do not see oil at all then you have dry skin. If you see equal amounts of oil on all pieces, you have Normal skin.
Professional Evaluation of Skin:
Baumann Skin Type Indicator (BSTI) Is one among the other methods that are known to scientifically evaluate the skin. The BSTI is a 64-item questionnaire that is designed to determine baseline skin type identifications and assessments.
Four parameters are considered for patients to accurately self-assess their skin type or for practitioners to be able to make appropriate skincare recommendations to their patients- dry or oily; sensitive or resistant; pigmented or non-pigmented; and wrinkled or un- wrinkled (tight) Hope this article is helpful to you. Please feel free to share any questions by using our “ Contact Us’ option. We welcome your suggestions and comments all the time!
Check out our next article on the skin type and the basic skincare routines recommended. “A makeup that costs you nothing but enhances your beauty is YOUR SMILE. Keep smiling!”
References:
- Oily Skin. A review of treatment options. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2017;10(8):49–55.
- J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2017;10(8):49–55. Acta Derm Venereol 2019.
- Barrier Repair Therapy in Atopic Dermatitis: An Overview. American Journal of Clinical Dermatology · June 2013.